U.K. court rejects hacker's bid to avoid extradition to U.S.

LONDON -- A British court has rejected an autistic British man's bid to avoid extradition to the United States to face trial for hacking into U.S. military computers.

Gary McKinnon has fought a long legal battle to avoid being extradited to the U.S. after he was charged with breaking into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and several branches of the U.S. military soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A British High Court rejected his appeals Friday and ruled that he should face extradition.

His lawyers argued that McKinnon should not be extradited because he has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and could be at risk of psychosis or suicide if he is sent to the U.S.